January 14, 2014 AT 4:07 pm

element 14 Community RoadTest: Beaglebone Black Radio Challenge

The BeagleBone Black is the newest member of the BeagleBoard family. It is a lower-cost, high-expansion focused BeagleBoard using a low cost Sitara™ AM3358 ARM® Cortex™-A8 processor from Texas Instruments, and can connect with the Internet and run software such as Angstrom and Ubuntu. Like its predecessors, the BeagleBone Black is designed to address the Open Source Community, early adopters, and anyone interested in a low cost ARM® Cortex™-A8 based processor.

The Bundle & the Challenge
For the purposes of this “RoadTest Plus”, we have bundled the Beaglebone Black with these other products:
A 4.3″ LCD Screen Cape
Adafruit Power Adapter
Adafruit BBB Case
Adafruit Software Defined Radio Receiver USB Stick
Compact USB Wi-Fi Adapter with 4″ Antenna

This bundle represents an ideal starting point for the creation of an innovative, fully-featured Internet / Digital Radio.

The selected testers will provide standard RoadTest reviews of the Beaglebone Black and blog in the Single Board Computers area of element14 beginning on Monday, February 17th and finishing on Friday, March 28th, detailing their Beaglebone Radio projects as they progress. Videos, diagrams and code samples should form part of the submissions. The RoadTester who provides the most intriguing, engaging material in addition to a fully operational Internet / Digital Radio will win the Grand Prize.

Featured Adafruit Products!

Adafruit BBB Case – Enclosure for Beagle Bone Black: We are thrilled to release Adafruit’s lovely Beagle Bone Black case, designed by Mike Doell (who made our really terrific Raspberry Pi enclosures as well). We wanted a beautiful, elegant case, not just functional but also something you’d really like having on your desk. Gaze lovingly at its square modern ahape & its glossy clear cover!

Featured Adafruit Products!

5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply – UL Listed:Need a lot of 5V power? This switching supply gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA. 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are “US 2-prong” style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one up at any hardware store for a $1 or so. Read More

Featured Adafruit Products!

Software Defined Radio Receiver USB Stick – RTL2832 w/R820T: If you’ve ever been curious about software defined radio (SDR), this USB stick is the easiest way possible to have fun with a powerful, configurable receiver. Packed with the powerful RTL2832U and R820T tuner, it can tune into signals from 24MHz to 1850MHz. That means you can use a computer (with Windows, Mac, or Linux) to tune into: FM Radio, AM signals (but not AM radio), CW (morse code!), unencrypted radio signals (such as those used by many police and fire departments), POCSAG pagers, and more. Read More